"Following a successful run, the 9-year-old O has struggled on the newsstand lately. In the second half of 2008, its total paid circulation declined 1.7 percent to 2.4 million, with single copy sales down 25.2 percent to 625,961.

So far this year, O has missed its rate base twice, by 5.1 percent and 4 percent, respectively, per the Audit Bureau of Circulations. O also has been challenged on the ad front, with pages down 30.7 percent to 694 this year through its July issue, per Mediaweek Monitor," reported Lucia Moses of Media Week.

As interactive media takes center stage, traditional and print media are experiencing significant declines in sales and readership.  Publications that are now on the web are drawing more followers than ever. 

Despite a drop in print sales, Hearst Magazine is reaping the rewards of the web.  A February 2009 report indicated that Hearst boosted web traffic by 150% after implementing a SEO and Wordtracker campaign.

In less than a decade, online capabilities have allowed companies to target audiences and draw traffic that is unattainable in the print industry. 

To learn more about the strides in online viewership and the rewards of well-implemented SEO see the articles below:

http://www.mediaweek.com/mw/content_display/news/magazines-newspapers/e3i5f3b44e890b8e56f0eac7436ac553aa3
http://www.cyberjournalist.net/hearst-magazine-increased-web-traffic-by-150-with-seo-and-wordtracker/

As America is celebrating its 233rd birthday this weekend, it is impossible not to notice the dramatic changes in society from the stories of old.  Over the last two centuries communication has evolved from the handcarved quill pens, powdered ink and parchment paper used to create the Declaration of Independence to the finely tuned CPU and Internet that allow 140 character Tweets to spread to millions at the click of a button.  The ease of sharing and spreading information is remarkably greater.   Is the art of molding a message the same or has it changed over the years too?

The long told story of our founding father's bravery and defense of the American people and the fight for the desire of the nation is slightly inaccurate.  In fact, a large portion (more than 20%)of the population was opposed to the Revolution.  The brutalities and poor leadership by the officers on the Colonial side would have generated even more negative opinion had the images and stories been passed along to the average person.  However, a few good talkers turned the image around and made the public believe in the Revolutionary cause.

Let's look back at America's original PR team lead by the renowned Ben Franklin. 

On November 29, 2005, Congress established the Committee of Correspondence to communicate with Colonial agents in Britain and "friends in other parts of the world."  Much of the committee's responsibility revolved around diplomacy and the ironing out of agreements surrounding trade.  As the committee's responsibilities expanded they changed the name to the Committee for Foreign Affairs in 1777 to handle war related issues and international relationships.  On the top of their list was building support on the homefront to fuel the Revolution.

Thomas Paine wrote "Common Sense" in 1776.  This was one of the first pieces of written communication in American history and is thought to have kicked off the American Revolution.

John Jay, the sixth member of the Committee, orchestrated the composition of more than 85 essays called the "Federalist Papers" to gain support for the constitution. These papers led to the ratification of the constitution of the United States of America in 1976.  The authors of these papers were later considered the fathers of this nation.  The "Federalist Papers" serve as guides to interpretation of the constitution in courtrooms today.

Though messages were written by quill, they were lasting.  Delivered by foot or horseback, they were direct and genuine.  The work of our forefathers has shaped the nation that we live in today.  As communication technique has evolved, one thing has remained the same: the absolute power of public relations.

Thomas Jefferson once said, “In a truly democratic society, everything depends on the consent of the public."

Without PR, we would not be celebrating our independence today.

Michael Jackson's June 25th passing prompted an internet sensation unlike ever before.

After TMZ released news of the super star's death, a storm swept interactive media.  Though traditional media waited for confirmation of Jackson's death, Twitter and social sites exploded with the news.

"We saw an instant doubling of tweets per second the moment the story broke," Twitter co-founder Biz Stone said.  "It is the biggest jump in tweets per second since the U.S. presidential election."

This phenomena actually caused a brief shut down of the Twitter micro-blogging site.  

"By 10:30pm, Jackson-based Twitter traffic had risen to 12.26 per cent and peaked at 11:30pm with 22.61 percent of all messages dedicated to the star. Nine of the ten most popular topics on Twitter were dedicated to the tragic king of pop by this time," reported www.dailymail.co.uk. 

Reports show Google even experienced a temporary blip, as Jackson searches prompted an error message due to the sheer number of searches.  

You Tube attracted thousands of Jackson fans within minutes.  Record sales soared over the weekend and radio stations played Jackson hits back-to-back.  Jackson's Thriller made it to #1 on iTunes within a few hours and his other albums saw the digital top ten lists. 

Jackson had a comeback tour scheduled for this year. 

Imagine reaching out, having your message heard by a sea of people.  How much would it cost you?   Reaching 93 million with a Super Bowl commercial is going to cost you a mere 2.6 million per spot.  Radio ad- only $900 per spot.  Print media varies according to publication, but can run you anywhere from $5,000 in your local paper to $250,000 for a full page in one of America’s most popular magazines.  

Social media reaches millions for a small cost.  Consider this:  You rarely spend less than $4 per thousand with any form of advertising, but social media costs less than $1.50 per thousand for the initial investment (with interactive marketing you will often hear per click to describe the rate of success).  The best part of social media is it is perpetual in nature.  You pay to get your message out there one time and your network does the rest.  

By blogging, you control your Internet voice.  Actually, you control your megaphone that has the potential to be heard by 346 million listeners.  Your blog is a professional platform that lends to your web presence and gains interaction with your followers.  By providing interesting information to your fans, you secure return visits to your site.  Happy fans will share your brand with their network.

A blog is a great way to be discovered. Every time you create a post, your blog feeds your content directly to a search engine; the more often you post, the higher your search engine ranking will be, and the more likely followers will be to find your website.  When Internet users land on a blog, the average visit yields three to five page views.  That equates to a strong opportunity to sell your brand.